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Gangster presents...
A 6-part true crime podcast documenting the biggest organised crime bust in British policing history. It happens in 2020 when police in France penetrate an encrypted phone network called EncroChat. According to police, the phones were used exclusively by criminals.
For over two months, police forces across Europe were reading the secret communications of major league criminal networks. The Metropolitan Police, working with the National Crime Agency and other forces, used this information to uncover the workings of organised crime groups.
“It was like being in a room with them and they are talking freely, and they don't see you there,” says DCI Driss Hayoukane, the Senior Investigating Officer who led the Met’s EncroChat operation.
Police went public about the EncroChat hack in July 2020. This is the first time that the inside story of some of the Met’s biggest EncroChat cases has been told to a broadcaster.
Talking exclusively to BBC Sounds, police officers reveal how they used the gangsters’ messages to uncover arms dealing and expose murder plots as well as major drug trafficking and money laundering operations. Stories featured in the series include:
- A murder plot unearthed by the Met in a joint operation with South Wales police.
- Two apparently legitimate businessmen, living in a Buckinghamshire village, whose wealth really came from cocaine trafficking and major league money laundering,
- A corrupt police officer who was working for a notorious London crime group.
At a time when the Metropolitan Police Service has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, it’s a rare story of an extraordinary success: nearly 1000 arrests; over 400 convictions; the seizure of £19 million in cash, three tonnes of Class A and B drugs and 49 guns.
But presenter Mobeen Azhar does not shy away from what have been difficult issues for the Met police: an officer from the Met’s anti-corruption unit speaks for the first time about how hacked EncroChat messages helped to expose the worst case of police corruption he had ever seen; and Mobeen asks the officer leading theMet’s EncroChat investigation about the experience of being an ethnic minority officer in a force found to be institutionally racist.
Catching the Kingpins is a BBC Studios Production for BBC Sounds.
Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Series Producer: Andrew Hosken
Editor and Executive Producer: Innes Bowen
Sound designer: Peregrine Andrews
Assistant Commissioner: Lorraine Okuefuna
Commissioning Editor: Louise Kattenhorn
Production Executive: Laura Jordan-Rowell
Creative Director for BBC Studios: Georgia Moseley
Unit Manager: Lucy Bannister
Production manager: Elaina Boateng
Development Executive: Anya Saunders
Editorial Policy Advice: Su Pennington
Legal advice: Hashim Mude and Andrew Downey
Consulting editor: Steve Boulton
Production Co-ordinator: Juliette Harvey
Thanks also to Beena Khetani, Adele Humbert, Hugh Levinson, Ali Rezakhani, Rhiannon Cobb, and Jack Griffith.
42 Episodes
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3Gangster is the extraordinary story of Paul Massey - labelled Salford's Mr Big. It charts his rise and inevitable fall from a young tearaway on the streets of Salford to the head of an organised crime group controlling drugs, security and nightclub doors in Manchester. It’s a story told not only by some of those close to him – but uniquely by Massey himself – though excerpts from an interview most of which has never been broadcast before.Presenter Livvy Haydock enters the secretive underworld to speak to hardened criminals who reveal how Massey climbed his way to the top through violence and extortion. But Massey was unlike many other gangland bosses. He wasn’t just in it for the money, he also saw himself as a community leader. To many in his neighbourhood, he was seen as a Robin Hood figure – looking after their interests, promising to keep hard drugs off the streets and enforcing his own style of street justice.
From the tough streets of Salford, Paul Massey begins his rise in the criminal underworld. While in jail, he hatches a plan to bring the gangs together and take over the city.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence.Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series Producer: Paul Grant
Producer: Oliver Newlan
Assistant Editor: Ciaran Tracey
Technical Production and Sound Design: Craig Boardman
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston
Manchester is at the centre of a cultural revolution. The Hacienda. Acid house. Ecstasy. Paul Massey makes a moves on the drug scene and enforces his own style of justice on the streets.This podcast contains strong language and descriptions of violence.Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series Producer: Paul Grant
Producer: Oliver Newlan
Assistant Editor: Ciaran Tracey
Technical Production and sound design: Craig Boardman
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston
Paul Massey is on a wild night out. He's being filmed by a TV crew, but the evening will change his life forever. A rival threatens to muscle in on his territory, but Massey is having none of it. And he spots a new money making venture.This podcast contains strong language and descriptions of violence.Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series Producer: Paul Grant
Producer: Oliver Newlan
Assistant Editor: Ciaran Tracey
Technical Production and sound design: Craig Boardman
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston
Massey sets his sights on the top political job in Salford, but he's facing pressure on all sides. The police are out to get their man and he finds himself caught up in a violent gangland feud.This podcast contains strong language and descriptions of violence.Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series Producer: Paul Grant
Producer: Oliver Newlan
Assistant Editor: Ciaran Tracey
Technical Production and sound design: Craig Boardman
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston
An assassin lays in wait. The aftermath takes the gang war to new levels of violence, leaving a young innocent victim seriously hurt and hardened criminals shocked at the callous brutality.This podcast contains strong language and descriptions of violence.Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series Producer: Paul Grant
Producer: Oliver Newlan
Assistant Editor: Ciaran Tracey
Technical Production and sound design: Craig Boardman
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston
The story of Curtis Warren - one of Britain's biggest and wealthiest drug barons.
Against a backdrop of unemployment and racism, Curtis Warren starts to make his mark on the streets of Toxteth. But a botched robbery lands him in prison for the first time.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence.Presenter: Livvy Haydock.
Series producer: Paul Grant
Producer: Scott Hesketh
Technical production and sound design: Matthew Dempsey and Richard Hannaford.
Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley
Production Manager: Cathy Clark
Commissioning editor: Richard Maddock.
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston
Curtis Warren begins his remarkable rise from lowly street dealer to dealing directly with the notorious Colombian cocaine cartels. His first £100m shipment gets through - right under the noses of customs.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence.Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series producer: Paul Grant
Producer: Scott Hesketh
Technical production and sound design: Matthew Dempsey and Richard Hannaford.
Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley
Production Manager: Cathy Clark
Commissioning editor: Richard Maddock.
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston
After walking free from a major drugs trial, Curtis Warren steps up his international drug dealing operation. He’s introduced to world of unimaginable wealth, excess and extravagance.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence.Presenter: Livvy Haydock.
Series producer: Paul Grant
Producer: Scott Hesketh
Technical production and sound design: Matthew Dempsey and Richard Hannaford.
Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley
Production Manager: Cathy Clark
Commissioning editor: Richard Maddock.
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston
A bloody gang war breaks out on the streets of Liverpool. Curtis Warren is in the firing line. He moves his operation to Holland, but the police are closing in.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence.Presenter: Livvy Haydock.
Series producer: Paul Grant
Producer: Scott Hesketh
Technical production and sound design: Matthew Dempsey and Richard Hannaford.
Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley
Production Manager: Cathy Clark
Commissioning editor: Richard Maddock.
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston
Curtis Warren looks to bribe a corrupt police officer to get a mate off the hook. But he’s got major troubles of his own as police finally catch up with their target number one.This podcast includes strong language and some descriptions of violence.Presenter: Livvy Haydock.
Series producer: Paul Grant
Producer: Scott Hesketh
Technical production and sound design: Matthew Dempsey and Richard Hannaford.
Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley
Production Manager: Cathy Clark
Commissioning editor: Richard Maddock.
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston
Just weeks after being released from jail, Warren finds himself back inside after his latest million pound drug deal is busted by police. He indulges in illicit sexual encounters behind bars.This podcast includes strong language and some descriptions of violence.Presenter: Livvy Haydock.
Series producer: Paul Grant
Producer: Scott Hesketh
Technical production and sound design: Matthew Dempsey and Richard Hannaford.
Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley
Production Manager: Cathy Clark
Commissioning editor: Richard Maddock.
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston
From the streets of post-war Birmingham, a young John Palmer - unable to read or write - starts to make a name for himself in the criminal underworld, wheeler-dealing jewellery and smelting gold. But it’s the Brink’s-Mat gold heist - the biggest armed robbery of all time - that provides him with the opportunity of a lifetime.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence. Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series producer: Mick Tucker
Producer: Patrick Kiteley
Technical production and sound design: Nicky Edwards
Additional technical production: Richard Hannaford
Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley
Production Manager: Sarah Payton
Commissioning editors: Richard Maddock and Dylan Haskins
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston.
Livvy Haydock travels from the streets of post-war Birmingham to the sun-kissed beaches of Tenerife - following the rise and fall of one of Britain’s richest, and most wanted, serious organised criminals.It’s a story of violence, mystery, murder and police corruption - of how an illiterate lad from a broken home went on to become as rich as the Queen - leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.Palmer owned a Learjet, a yacht, helicopters, a collection of fast cars and a chateau in France. A wheeler-dealer jeweller who started by selling paraffin from the back of a lorry and was catapulted to the top of the criminal world after the Brink’s-Mat heist in 1983 - the largest armed robbery in British history. He smelted millions of pounds worth of the gold, earning himself the moniker ‘Goldfinger.’ He then went on to mastermind a multi-million-pound timeshare fraud on Tenerife, scamming thousands of innocent victims who lost their life savings.In a series of exclusive interviews, Livvy hears from his associates and his victims - many of whom have never spoken before. And she meets the detectives who were tasked with bringing him to justice.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence.Presenter: Livvy HaydockSeries producer: Mick TuckerProducer: Patrick KiteleyTechnical production and sound design: Nicky Edwards and Richard HannafordJournalism Assistant: Tim FernleyProduction Manager: Sarah PaytonCommissioning editors: Richard Maddock and Dylan HaskinsEditor and executive producer: Carl Johnston
John Palmer heads to Tenerife where he starts to build a timeshare empire with the money made from the Brink’s Mat gold bullion robbery. But Scotland Yard are on his tail. His Somerset home is raided and there’s evidence to link him to ‘the crime of the century.’ Palmer is now a fugitive - but his options are running out.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence. Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series producer: Mick Tucker
Producer: Patrick Kiteley
Technical production and sound design: Nicky Edwards
Additional technical production: Richard Hannaford
Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley
Production Manager: Sarah Payton
Commissioning editors: Richard Maddock and Dylan Haskins
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston.
John Palmer’s empire in the sun starts to make him some serious money, but back in England, he has to face the music in court for smelting Brink’s Mat gold. As he scams more and more people on Tenerife, he brings in a motley crew of henchmen to help keep things under control - and he develops and unhealthy appetite for cocaine.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence. Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series producer: Mick Tucker
Producer: Patrick Kiteley
Technical production and sound design: Nicky Edwards
Additional technical production: Richard Hannaford
Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley
Production Manager: Sarah Payton
Commissioning editors: Richard Maddock and Dylan Haskins
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston
As the violence on Tenerife escalates, the police gather more and more evidence against John Palmer. Back in the UK his pal Kenneth Noye stabs a man to death in a brutal road rage incident - and Palmer helps him escape to his chateau in France.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence. Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series producer: Mick Tucker
Producer: Patrick Kiteley
Technical production and sound design: Nicky Edwards
Additional technical production: Richard Hannaford
Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley
Production Manager: Sarah Payton
Commissioning editors: Richard Maddock and Dylan Haskins
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston
John Palmer is up in the dock for his timeshare fraud - and his decision to represent himself doesn’t go to plan. As he spends time in prison, his timeshare business on empire on Tenerife splinters and two of his former employees are brutally murdered.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence. Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series producer: Mick Tucker
Producer: Patrick Kiteley
Technical production and sound design: Nicky Edwards
Additional technical production: Richard Hannaford
Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley
Production Manager: Sarah Payton
Commissioning editors: Richard Maddock and Dylan Haskins
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston
John Palmer is out of jail - but detectives are following his every move. They’re holed up in a secret underground hideout 300 miles from London, after its revealed Palmer has some of Scotland Yard’s top cops in his pocket. Then, he makes himself a target after he threatens to turn super grass.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence. Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series producer: Mick Tucker
Producer: Patrick Kiteley
Technical production and sound design: Nicky Edwards
Additional technical production: Richard Hannaford
Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley
Production Manager: Sarah Payton
Commissioning editors: Richard Maddock and Dylan Haskins
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston
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fantastic podcast.
interesting.....but NOT as classy as Serial.....
Paddy conroy next? Love how the woke bbc make these scum famous
Great podcast thanks 👍
Decent podcast. Not the best you'll ever hear but defo worth a listen.
Only on Episode but really enjoying this story. It's a must listen
Chilling and compulsive. The story of Salford's Mr. Big, Paul Massey. An absolutely must listen for anyone with an interest in Greater Manchester gang culture, Madchester, The Hacienda, inner city power grabs.